Houston Marathon 2009

This is a long post, so bear with me.

Prelude: As you may have read on my blog recently, I've had alot going on the past couple of months, and I whined and moaned about how I wasn't prepared for the Houston Marathon and how I just wanted to finish with dignity, blah, blah, blah. This was my 5th Houston Marathon in a row, a milestone, and sadly I was not looking forward to it.

I meant every single word about how I was feeling physically and mentally unprepared, about my anxiousness and concern about even finishing, about the advice I received from fellow runners and how much it meant to me, and about how my two goals were to finish and have fun doing it, since I was 100% sure that a sub-four or PR were out of the question this time. And, the warm forecast definitely slammed the door on any fleeting random thoughts of race-day glory.

WHAT?: So I am really having trouble finding a way to explain my personal best offical time of 3:52:53. But I'll try...

Fun race, really: Over 24 hours later, I still can't believe it. I'm elated and exhausted, and most importantly, I have great memories from yesterday's race because I had FUN. Yes, I can honestly say I had a fun race. I made every effort to stay coherent and thank the crowd and volunteers, and to pay attention to the activities on the sidelines and the runners around me. For the first time ever, I did not make the turn onto Woodway/Memorial with a sense of dread (a long, long road on the way to downtown where many hit the wall). The last stretch to downtown, Allen Parkway and its hilly road, didn't phase me. West University, my favorite part of the run, lived up to expectations as always, and what I think is the longest stretch, Studemont/Montrose from the Heights to Rice U, seemed really short. Tanglewood was nice and shady, and hands down, Houston has THE BEST marathon supporters anywhere! This city really rallies around the marathon/half marathon and its runners. Signs, cheering, high-fives, calling out names...simply the best.

Good grief, did I accidentally take happy pills instead of Endurolytes?? Who feels this way during and after a marathon, and a very warm one at that?

The start: Other than the weather, my primary concern first thing Sunday morning was which wave I should start with. I was assigned to the first wave but was afraid I would start off too fast and falter fast. I was leaning toward starting with the second wave, but then Robert said he was going to start in the first with the 4-hour pace group, and that he would start off slow, and that I should give it a go in the first wave. Okay, I thought, why not...the first wave starts 10 minutes before the second wave, and I remember thinking that would mean I would be done with the race 10 minutes sooner. Ah, the logic that runs through my coffee-less mind. So, me, Robert, Ruthie and a couple of others got the race underway towards the back of the first wave.

First 10k: The first few miles were smooth. We had a good pace going, and the pace-setter did a great job with consistency. After about five miles, its pretty easy to start maintaining pace/consistency based on what was being called out at the mile markers. I knew at that point I was averaging between 8:55-9:00 minutes a mile. Okay, I thought, that's a little fast, but the weather was still cool and I was feeling good, so I think it was at that point that I said to myself "run as fast as you can for as long as you can, because the heat will get you in the end."

I've mentioned in my posts before that I make many adjustments during races based on several conditions. Running the first half of a race fast might go against logic and alot of training guidelines, but I knew it was going to warm up and warm up fast, so I thought I would make the most of the first half, maybe (unofficially) PR in the first half, and hope that I made up enough time in the first part to compensate for the time I would lose in the second half and finish decently. So, that became my new plan...run fast until I couldn't run fast anymore. Forget a negative split...that was definitely not going to happen.

Reaching the halfway point: I don't remember realizing when I did speed up, but before I knew it, the 3:50 pace group was just in front of me, somewhere along Main/University. So I steadied my pace for a few miles, keeping them in my sights. After I crossed the half mark (and I did PR that half), and turned the corner onto Wesleyan, I caught the 3:50 group and my friend Jennifer. I stayed with them about a mile then kept on trucking ahead at a ridiculous pace. I was still feeling good, it wasn't getting too warm yet, and I adjusted my strategy again...keep running as fast as I could until mile 18, then re-assess.

Miles 13-18: Granted, the stretch between 13 and 18 miles has always been tough for me. I did start to feel some soreness in my lungs around mile 15 and thought that might be the point where I needed to slow down (after telling myself that surely I had just suddenly developed runners asthma), but the soreness passed, and that was really all that was bothering me. I was walking all of the water stops for at least 20-30 seconds, sometimes longer, and I was consistently taking GU and Endurolytes every six miles, as planned. In fact, I think it really helped me mentally to break up the race into four segments of six miles. When I passed mile 18 and turned that corner at Woodway, and I still felt good, physically and mentally. What was going on?

The Woodway/Memorial stretch: At the 18 mile mark, it was easy to start doing some quick finish time calculations. I knew then that if I kept up a decent pace and ran smart, I could get near a 4-hour finish, maybe close to my San Antonio PR, both of which were way beyond my expectations this race. Well, once I made it to the stretch around Memorial Park, my calf started to cramp, and I have never experienced cramps in a run before. I stopped and stretched a couple of times and popped my last Endurolyte. And the 3:50 pace setters raced by me, so I knew that time was out the window. I figured this was the end of my strong running, and honestly, that was fine with me. I knew I'd be walking more and doing some stretching, and it was at this time it really started to warm up and heat warnings were posted.

However, apparently I was running really fast in between these walking and stretching stops, because when I reached mile 20, I realized I had over an hour to reach the finish line and still get a sub-four, even if I ran/walked 10 minute miles. Wow. Good. I could do that. That was my final motivation...stay consistent, stay smart, run fast, walk and stretch often, and finish in under 4 hours, because it was then that I knew it was a real possibility if the calf held up.

The Allen Parkway stretch: The next 3 miles or so just floated by. Before I knew it I was on Allen Parkway, the hilly stretch before the final home stretch. Though I was coherent and was trying to focus on the crowds along the side and smile and have fun, one thought was pounding in my mind, and that was getting an orange slice at the Houston Fit tent at mile 24. I could not stop thinking about this orange slice, and I hate oranges! But I wanted one bad; my mouth was dry and I was seriously craving something sweet. Not candy, not even orange slices handed out by other spectators, but the oranges slices being handed out by Houston Fitters. And that was the best damn orange slice I ever had! It was also at the Houston Fit tent that Shawn jumped into the race and ran about half a mile or so with me, in his flip-flops! That was awesome and much needed, because except for the beginning and the middle of the race, I was pretty much running by myself (which is usually just fine with me). Thank you Shawn!

Downtown Houston and the road to the finish: The reality of my run and the time I could possibly achieve really came to light when I passed under the bridge just outside of downtown that always has the sign "1.5 miles to go." I looked at my watch and I had 20 minutes to cover 1.5 miles and still come in under 4 hours. I knew that was definitely going to happen, but how far under 4 hours didn't matter to me, really. I wanted to enjoy that last stretch along Rusk. I pulled out my iPod earbuds, looked ahead at the finish line way, way in the distance, smiled, relaxed and ran in, cheering and clapping with the crowd and enjoying every minute of it. I stopped looking at my watch, and when I was close enough to the finish to see the clock, I could not believe my eyes. I was going to PR. I was going to freaking PR on the most unexpected of days. When I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch, I was stunned. And then I was wildly happy, maybe slightly delirious. You couldn't punch the smile off my face, and its still there (thought its a very tired smile today).

So that is my race story. Sorry its long, but this is a day I will want to remember for a long time. Not so much because of my time, but because of my change in attitude, my perseverance, my smart run, and the fact that this was the most fun I've ever had running a marathon.

Shout outs: I want to thank Rick, Danny, and Kathleen...you guys were cheering maniacs and so motivating! Our fearless leader, Patty, always has a smile and oozes encouraging excitement for her runners. Thank you so much to my dear friends Aimee and Tyler and their precious sons Senator and March for meeting me when the race was over. You have no idea how much it meant to me for you to be there! And thanks to my fellow runner, friend and neighbor Russ for his very kind comments, and to Jamoosh for being the great motivator and supporter. And last but not least, thanks for carb-loading with me on Friday, Gregg.

My official race results:
Overall time - 3:52:53 (a PR)
Half Marathon time - 1:54:53 (also a PR)
Average pace: 8:54/mile
Finished 1213/5406 total marathon finishers, 234/1897 female finishers and 43/368 in my age group.

Next up...Austin...bring it on.